Lack of Instagramming and even fewer blog posts... what's going on. The Christmas period I always find super busy and mixed into this I had revision which I needed to do as well, in preparation for my January exams. I was also doing lots of shifts at the pub, to earn some much needed money to get me through uni ;). Joking aside... I went through a time where I just didn't know what to talk about to you guys. My running has been up and down. In summer I managed to build up to a few 5km and then two weeks into uni, I went back to square 1 with zero running. However a few weeks ago, I started to build up again and everything seemed to be going relatively smoothly, as I was taking things very slow. Then this all changed... I woke up one day and my shin was sore to touch. I felt seriously sorry for myself, because this was following missing BUCs XC, scrolling through social media and just being so jealous of seeing everyone running. Over the last week it has sunk in that my body isn't ready to run. It's allowed me to focus on other areas... such as rowing. Looking at this in a positive light, it has allowed me to commit properly to rowing and this actually makes me really happy, because I love it! BUCs head is coming up in a few weeks and that will be really exciting, as our first big race! Spin classes have also been a new found love of mine... finding myself going to a handful each week and loving them. Spinning is also really good for my rowing as they both use your legs a lot, so I know this different type of training is helping my rowing. It just makes me feel so good; serious endorphin release! I could not recommend spin classes more. Over the last two weeks I have really worked on my overall fitness. Doing lots of different classes for full body weight workouts and eating good food. I actually feel so much better for it! Following this, I also had a rowing test on Tuesday morning... at 7am. I was really scared... as we've had 1km tests before but this was more important as BUCs crews were also in the balance. If you didn't read my instagram, it went as well as I could have hoped and if not better. I pushed myself beyond my limits and this resulted in me being a bit of a mess straight afterwards! Even though I went through a lot of pain in this test, I felt great to really push my body again... it was sort of a nice kind of pain. My lectures for the first two weeks of term, have been great. I love my new modules, but I have had a lot of spare time this week. I've been able to fill my time with sport to keep me happy and just general chilling. I know in the next few weeks, my work load is going to get larger, which I actually don't mind. I'm definitely embracing and enjoying uni much more this term. Especially with my rowing really coming on and having more structured training and targets to aim for. I'm hoping to just be able to perhaps run once a week, but just whatever my body can handle. I hope you've all had a great week and for those doing nationals xc next weekend, you are super excited. That will be another tough one for me to swallow, seeing all the photos of people there.
G x
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This blog post is continuing on from last weeks (4 month injury update part 2), as there was so much to talk about I had to put it in two posts. After this, I had made it to the end of cross country season, but to be honest it should have come to an end a lot sooner. Here I was, with my body in a mess and low positivity at having a horrific end to a season, following the best opening season ever. In the end my hip flexor issue meant I was unable to do pretty much anything for about 6 weeks. Everything I did seemed to hurt it... cycling hurt, swimming hurt, running hurt, gym work hurt... even walking hurt. This was during easter, so I guess it gave me more time to revise, but it did not help me mentally... I felt pretty lost to be honest. Stress levels were pretty high from work and I had no sport to turn to. This was hard. After these hard six weeks, I could slowly start doing some cross training. However if you are wondering about my foot and shin, this was still going on. During the six weeks off I also had my foot scanned because I was pretty sure it was a stress fracture. It turned out to be 'nothing' apparently, however there was certainly something very wrong with my foot at one point... because I couldn't walk on it. At this point I was happy because I could see progress because my shin, foot and hip flexor pain had gone. The next step was returning to running. Running was going great, until on my third run in, my shin started to hurt. At this point, I was pretty fed up. I was about to start my exams so as you can imagine, I probably wasn't the happiest I've ever been. I tried on and off running through exams, having several days between each run and not running for long, but still the pain in my shin wasn't going anywhere. Finally after exams, I sought more help for my shin. This time, I feel like I really got an answer. My physio said, I almost definitely had a stress fracture in my shin back in March... and I really wasn't surprised to hear this. Luckily, my shin in June was not still a stress fracture and the verdict was, it probably just needs a few more weeks rest. I was very happy with this and rested up. A month on, and I'm progressing on my walk/ run programme and I can see hope. I can see a future. Its going to be a slow process, but every step I'm thankful for. The excitement I get before every run is pretty great! My fitness is clearly lacking, but I expected this and I'm hoping when I get back to more structured training, it shouldn't take too long to return.
I hope you have enjoyed this post and I am hoping that others can learn from it. Pushing through my injury, got me nothing. I broke my body more and was rewarded with some shocking race results. G x Many of you who have been following my Instagram, will have seen I was recently in Spain on a lovely relaxing holiday in the sun. This was my first holiday since finishing my exams and I feel like my body so needed it! Training while on holiday can sometimes be super easy or can actually prove quite challenging. The fortunate thing with running is you can really do it wherever... maybe the exception if you are on a sailing boat or something. I have put together some of my top tips onto how to enjoy your holiday and training. TOP TIPS: - Firstly don't stress if one day you can't squeeze a workout in; a holiday is for enjoying and one extra rest day, isn't going to do much harm, your body might actually even appreciate it. - Personally for me when I am on holiday with my family, the best time for me to workout is in the morning, because they all wake up pretty late. I try and get my workouts done before breakfast, as I don't like missing time with them when they are awake. In addition to this, I also often workout in the midday or afternoon, this is because we usually go on holiday to the middle east which can get pretty flippin' hot at the peak temperatures of the day (I have this to look forwards to in a few weeks time). - Often when you are on a summer holiday, you will have access to the sea or a pool. Make the post of this cross training benefit. If the pool is small, then perhaps swimming lengths isn't the most exciting prospect, but instead maybe try some aqua jogging. A really simple aqua jog session could be; 5 mins warm up 10x 2 minutes hard with 30 seconds rest 5 mins cool down - Open water swimming is also a great solution and this is something I made the most of while in Spain. If you are nervous then you can stick really close to the shore line and can basically never swim in water deeper than you can stand. In Spain the water was so so cold, so I could never go longer than 30 minutes, but I just tried to do little and often. - When it comes to access to gyms, this is when it can become slightly more challenging. In Spain I had no access to a gym which I thought previously was going to be a bit of a disaster, however outdoor gyms are popping up more and more, which are free to use and thankfully we had one right next to our apartment. Also there are lots of exercises which you can do without equipment, heres a circuit session I made which uses no equipment. 10x press ups 10x sit ups 1 minute plank 10x burpees 10x comandos 10x mountain climbers 10x squats This can be repeated 3 or 4 times, depending how much of a workout you want. I have also previously blogged another non equipment workout in CORE WORKOUT which is a non equipment core workout. - If you are staying in an appartment, sometimes there are bikes and fortunately there was one where I was staying, so could ride it around a bit. If you are on a city break and don't have access to the pool or sea, you can often find places to hire a bike, which can be great for sightseeing but also allows you to fit some cross training in. - Last of all, ENJOY. Your on holiday make sure you have fun and you don't worry about training all the time. Have an ice cream and remember to relax! I hope you enjoy this little fitness guide and gives you some ideas of what you can do on holiday. I struggled in Spain because I couldn’t run, but managed to make the most of swimming and cycling fortunately to keep my exercise up!
G x In mid December I went on holiday to Miami to get some much needed vitamin D and it was my first trip away with just my sister, which I was super excited about! I have saved this post until now because as the evenings are starting to get lighter and the small prospect of warm weather is in sight... sort of, okay not really. Anyway I thought I'd do a blog of what I got up to whilst on holiday and some helpful tips for staying motivated when away. America is always hard with jet lag and Miami was a four hour change, my sister and I found ourselves getting pretty exhausted early in the evening and I would be lying if I said we didn't go to bed at like 6pm on the first night. Personally I actually quite enjoyed going to bed early because it meant we woke up super early. When it comes to running whilst away I found it easiest to get my run done in the morning for many reasons. Firstly because it was the coolest part of the day and I am not a fan of running in the peak of the heat as I basically die. Secondly because if I left it until the afternoon then I was exhausted after having lied on a sun bed or walked about 10km around Miami. What I can say for sure about running on holiday is that it great because you can go and explore where you are staying a pass places that you might not have seen otherwise. In Miami it was great because there was a path along the beach for 7km and running along this made for some amazing views. It was great that the hotel I was staying at had a great gym and I was able to give some exercises a go which... well, I had never tried before. Like climbing up a rope. After seeing on Mo Farah's story his young twins doing this with ease, I naively thought it would be easy... however this was not the case. I failed miserable, lets just say I was better at the monkey bars. Even if where you are staying doesn't have a gym, this doesn't need to stop you from still hitting some great workouts which you can do with no equipment. In America I also had the chance to try some new foods and I discovered America have so much more choice. After hunting down a whole foods (my favourite place ever) we came back with some very exciting new goodies... I thought so anyway. I got some cliff bars (flavours you can't get in the UK) and lots of fresh fruit to keep in our room. But, my food discovery which I am still loving now was an acai bowl. I have heard plenty about these but only when I was at a cafe which was selling them, did I branch out and try one. If you haven't had one, I would describe it as a sort of frozen/ smoothie sorbet like thing and then I had lots of blueberries, granola, coconut and almond butter on top. This breakfast was like a dream and I need to find a recipe for it, to make at home! Looking back on photos now makes me seriously crave some sun, especially now as I am back to my usual paleness. There is hope though as we are edging further and further out of winter. The daffodils have started to come out on my road which is always nice to see! I know it has been a busy weekend of racing with BUCs and schools inter counties going on, so I hope everyones went well.
Love G x This long weekend over New Year I have been lucky enough to be staying in Bath for a few nights. This is also great because I’m considering going to Bath uni so I can get to know the city more, to give me a better idea of what it would be like. With lots of races approaching in January, there was no pause in running on Saturday, so I headed to parkrun. I had looked on the parkruns website to try and give me an idea of what the course will be like. After navigating my way to the course... and having to tackle one huge hill to get there, I had a quick jog to look at what I could see of the course. Soon enough we were off and the course was pretty muddy and windy! The start began with a steep downhill then a big flight of steep steps. The rest was overall flat but much more muddy and I am ashamed to say, as I was going around the corner, splash... that’s me slipped into a puddle. Luckily I wasn’t that soaked all over, just two very very soggy feet! It was nice to come in with a steady time, to mix the parkrun in with my session. I did really enjoy having a navigate around Bath getting to parkrun and also the area around where the parkrun was. This weekend has consisted of lots of walking around Bath and shopping. Bath is possibly the most beautiful place and I’m certainly falling in love with it more each day! Next week I will be doing a bit of a post about 2017 and going into 2018. And of course my blogs birthday, the 12th January will mark two years of Race With Grace!!!
Love G x This week I have a very exciting workout video to share with you which I filmed with Ellen (teen runner blog, check out her blog as she is a great friend and has a running blog too) the other day. This blog post I'll also give you a bit of an over view of what I've been up to this week, but the main thing I have had this week was school... yes sadly I started school on Friday and its been pretty full on ever since then really. Fortunately I have had a chance to edit this video for you, which I have really enjoyed making and I hope you will all enjoy it. The music to the video is not the best but it's pretty hard finding good youtube legal musi so I hope you don't mind it too much ;) So here is my WORKOUT VIDEO which I'm really pleased with so let me know what you think! Here is also a written plan of the workout in the video: 1 minute plank 20x toe touches 20x alternate elbow knee 12x renegade row 15x half sits 20x single leg extensions 12x commandos And repeat Take 10 seconds rest between exercises and 30 seconds rest between sets! ENJOY!!! Other than filming a this workout video I have also been doing a lot of training this week as I continue to build towards cross country season, which I am really excited for. I have been trying to particularly work on areas which are my weaknesses so hopefully by the time I get to my first proper cross country in October I should have strengthened these weaknesses. This week has been tough I have found, after some solid training which I have enjoyed, I am a bit tired and school on Friday didn't help this much. On Monday though I feel like I will be back into the swing of school and happy to be back into the routine. For me I am a huge routine person and helps me almost stay focused so as much as I am not a fan of going back to school, secretly I quite like it.
I hope you have all had a great week, Love G x This is a blog post that I have been thinking on doing for a few months, as lots of people have asked me about whether I'll be doing any tri's this season. As you know last year I participated in lots of triathlons and was keen to try and improve all three disciplines, although running has always been my favourite and I had always heavily prioritised it training wise, but I was enjoying the diversity of triathlon. After going on the England trial weekend (link to my blog post from it) a lot of things went through my head afterwards. Something that was clear to me, was that my swimming and cycling were far too slow but my running was the only thing that pulled me back into contention in the triathlons. The decision had to be made where I needed to go down one route or the other, because I just wasn't getting the all around training I needed for triathlon or benefits of committing to running fully. After thinking about everything there was a clear path that would be best for me to take... and that was the running one, and I haven't looked back since. As much as I enjoyed swimming and cycling it didn't fill me with joy, half as much as running did. I still swim and cycle now, but as cross training to help me with my running fitness and I really enjoy doing this. Don't get me wrong I still don't enjoy the 5:30am wake up for early morning swimming, but I just like to think about how I feel at 8:00am when I have achieved so much in my day, before most people have got to school. In addition to just preferring running over swimming and cycling, there was also the small... okay maybe not so small, issue of time. I am heading into my last year of school, where time is slightly tight and even writing blog posts is often something which is squeezed into an hour or two of free time, on a Friday or Saturday evening, but I certainly wouldn't change it for the world, because I love it. I was managing to fit in most of my swimming, however cycling I needed another 100km each week and I just had no where to fit this in. Cycling is my least favourite out of the three and there is something about being on a bike which makes me feel vulnerable. I think if there were cycle highways everywhere and if you didn't hurt yourself when you fall off, I would love it, but unfortunately it does not work like that. So, my bike remains in the garage and comes out for a slow cycle at quiet times of day, and I love that. Since making this big move to commit to running more, my love for running has grown and grown. I would now say I am definitely obsessed and striving to be better ever day. Some goals I make are realistic for each season and others seem crazy, so now I feel it is appropriate for some of my favourite quotes.
"Set a goal that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning" "It always seems impossible until it's done" "It's going to be hard, but hard is not impossible" I am now looking forward to cross country season, having come through summer with lots of pbs on track and I hope to improve my season this year from last year. I hope you have enjoyed this blog post and answered lots of your questions. Also I hope you like my new design of my blog, after trying lots of different themes I have settled with this one. Love G x This week I have been up in London on an internship for economics, to help me get an experience of what it may be like if I pursue my economics route into university and later on in life in my job. I have learnt so much from it, although it was very full on, it was a really great experience. I have been busy with work experience pretty much since I broke up from school (apart from my holiday), so it is certainly nice to have finished it all for my summer and I can move onto my mountain of summer school work. Also I can make the most of my free time and getting some good training in. Whilst back this weekend I have managed to get an core session in for you all. I think there is so much importance in core strength as a endurance runner, and also in many other sports too. Runners are often portrayed as you need to be lean, and yes there is importance in this, however you also need to be strong. Strength is so important for your power in racing, so I thought if you are ever stuck for a routine then you can always give my favourite one a go below! Session is as followed: 1 minute plank 30 toe touches (one of my favourite core exercises) 20 sit ups 50 twists Quick stretch 30 crunches 20 renegade rows 20 hip pushes (okay I never know what this one is called, its when you lie on your back and lift your feet up perpendicular to you and then push them up and down. If anyone knows the correct name of this drill, please do let me know!) Take a 1 minute rest and repeat Once you've repeated it once you are all done! It all in all, will take about 20 minutes, so it is great for a quick core session in the week. It also involves no equipment so you can do it anywhere... no need to have to go to a gym. Anyway after having done my core workout on Friday evening it was time for me to make the most of my easy day of running on Saturday and take to parkrun with my dad. This is honestly one of my favourite things. Ever since I have started running, I have tried my best to get my dad into it, and yes it may have taken some time but I am pleased to say that I think he actually enjoys park runs now and he seems to be impressing the whole family every week by taking chunks off his pbs constantly. It was also great fun for me to get an easy run in. The weather was glorious too, however the rest of the day it has been far from pretty. I don't think I have ever seen it rain quite so hard before I have done yesterday. So, this week has been full on and I have explored many routes of blackheath and greenwich as I continued to train when I was staying away from home. This weekend, has been a lovely finish to my week and I have Sunday to enjoy too now. Sorry for the lack of racing posts lately but it is coming to the end of track season and my racing is starting to ease up. I hope you all have a good weekend, and enjoy your training you are doing or just have a nice relaxing day.
Love G x Last week I was in the lovely and warm La Manga in Spain. Having gone straight from school, it felt like a much needed break. This is my favourite holiday of the year because it is with my whole family, including boyfriends and husbands of my sister which makes it great fun! We had a nice civilised flight time in the afternoon so we made it to the hotel in time for dinner and then went straight to bed after that, because travelling is surprisingly exhausting. What I love about going on holiday is having the best breakfast, the hotel buffet never seems to disappoint me and a highlight is certainly the fruit bar, with all the fruit you can think of. Before I carry on, if you are a long time follow of my blog, you may have noticed that I went to this exact same hotel last year and wrote some blog posts on them, these included: Sunny Running and Run to the Beach! Above is a snap of my first course of my breakfast each day, it involved a mixture of exotic fruit with a nice pile of strawberry yogurt on top. This was especially nice if I had just come back from a run - tasty, refreshing and healthy. The are lots of runs around where I was staying, however all the exciting ones involved some serious hill climbs because they were coastal routes. From my video I have uploaded onto my youtube, I think it is fair to say you can see how large some of the hills are from this. I did most of my sessions on the roads around the complex which wasn't as exciting as the coastal paths but they were still far from flat, just a little more do able than some of the roads on the mountainous coastal routes. Some of my more easy runs, I couldn't avoid the amazing views of the coast. A few times I was joined by some of my family and could get some video footage from the drone, even the go pro came out with me a few times. I thought as I always show you all my running photos, here are a few of the snaps of my more laid back time on holiday. All I can say is I have had a great start to my holidays, it has been very busy so far as for the first week I was in Spain and now I have got work experience for the next two weeks which is always full on, but I'm learning lots from it so far. My summer starts to chill out a lot more in august and getting some good training in for the conclusion of the track season and the build towards cross country. I know you are probably all wondering where the video is, well I have had some uploading problems with is but it should be up on youtube in the next week for sure but I'll let everyone know through social media so you can go check it out. Also please let me know what you think of my video blogging as well as blogging on here as I've quite enjoyed adding the video aspect to it. Love G x Hey, I’m Ruth! I have written a few posts for several blogs now and I’m big social media fan but for those who haven’t stumbled across me before, I’m an 18-year-old dental student in my first year at Leeds university. Oh, I LOVE to run too! I was really excited when Grace asked if I would write a guest post and even more so when she suggested If I would discuss my life juggling running and a dental degree- my two greatest passions! So far my time being a student athlete has brought about so many fantastic opportunities from representing the university in some amazing races to already being let loose on a real dental clinic! Ofcourse, uni as an athlete hasn’t been without its tough times either. I can work or train far too hard and feel incredibly tired without my parents or coaches right at the side line to help me through. At uni I often feel like I’m forced to make the choice between fully committing myself to running or being ‘half in, half out’ (training hard and partying hard). Full commitment means missing out on a typical uni social life but knowing you couldn’t have worked any harder towards running. The ‘half in, half out’ choice entails experiencing a rigorous running regime alongside a student life but neither of them to the fullest. With aims in marathon/ ultra-running at a much older age I opted for the later. Despite choosing the half in half out option, with parties for students most nights you tend to feel like the odd one out. You have to discipline yourself to go to bed before your race the next morning and at that point it’s so easy to only see the good in other people’s lives. You can start doubting your intention to train and question ‘what am I doing?!’ To me, that’s just about where the self-doubt stops. Everytime I wake up in the morning and train, I realise why I do just what I do. I get a sense of accomplishment every time I tick off a challenging session, whether I felt good or not, I woke up and I did it. Through my sports at uni, I feel like I have made some of the best friendships. It’s a strange sort of bond where you share your blood, sweat and tears every session. Your training friends are there when you are struggling to pick you up and tell you to keep going. There’s an indescribable level of desire everytime you toe up the start line to push your body to its absolute limits, to be quicker than last time, to beat your records and then to beat someone else’s records. Whether you run well or not, there’s something inside of you telling you to keep pushing and to get faster. It a hunger for more that you can’t describe or understand unless you’re a competitive sportsperson. Going to university and bringing my running commitment with me has been a huge process of learning my own personal balance between study, sports and social life. It’s about establishing individual limits (not someone else’s), how many hours of study, training and how much time can you spend with friends and then still find time to get enough sleep as well! All this with being happy in what you do and without (too much) stress! And when you can’t quite fit everything in, what do you prioritise and what do you choose to compensate? Being a student athlete is tough, but trust me, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. My passion and commitment towards my athletics is what, I believe has got me to where I am today. Its conveyed through to my academics and my athletic achievements have given me the confidence to aim high at uni. With the support of my friends, family and coaches so far, life as a student athlete has been extremely rewarding. As I approach the end of my first year at uni as an athlete here are some lessons to take away from my experience so far: -My family, friends and coaches are more important than anything else in the world. -Sleep = success. Get it and try to get lots of it when you can. -Halls are LOUD. When people say, they are loud, they’re not joking. -Bikes will get stolen, so A. Choose an old rusty bike and B. Purchase a D-lock. -Wilkinson’s is the most important shop on the high street. Don’t forget that. -Carrying your weekly food shop home is like combing the toughest strength and conditioning session with extreme weight lifting. -Running means a lot…but not everything. You don’t have to sacrifice your exams on Wednesday morning so you can fit in your Tuesday evening track session. It’s okay to say no sometimes. -Whatever the weather, bring a waterproof wherever you go. -Fruit is expensive! Except the 9 pack of satsumas from Morrison’s. - Self-love and confidence go a long way. -Taking time out and doing absolutely nothing now and again is important physically and mentally. -Don’t be afraid to try new things. -18 year olds are definitely not adults yet. -You will create some interesting new recipes- fajitas with bagels because you have no tortillas? -You can’t afford the new Nike pro’s. Don’t even bother to look. -Believe you can achieve and its crazy what you will accomplish. -Sell by dates are all lies -Whether you have a good race or bad race, the world will go on. -Runners = All the fridge and freezer space. Apologise nicely. -Procrastination = More stress later. -Every messy situation you get into, it will get sorted in the end. -Wherever you go, you will meet some amazing people. -Being a student athlete is 100% possible no matter the uni course, the level of competition, it can be done. All the best,
Ruth x |
HelloI'm Grace, a 18 year old runner, and fitness fanatic. Join me on my crazy journey through life, squeezing in an adventure in every second of spare time I have. Archives
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